Gold Magazine June - July 2013, Issue 27 | Page 74

CYPRUS SHIPPING DIRECTORY SALAMIS ORGANISATION Kikis A. Vassiliou General Manager S alamis Organisation has been active for longer than the local industry itself. How has Cyprus shipping changed over the past 50 years? It has certainly changed over the years. There is fierce competition among flags regarding vessel registration, means of transport and volume of cargo as well as the increasing number of shipping companies operating out of Cyprus. However, the quality and service provided to all sectors of the shipping industry have been developed and upgraded over the years to such a high standard that they have put Cyprus on the global shipping map. How significant is the industry to the economy of Limassol in particular? It is a fact that since the 1974 Turkish invasion, the majority of shipping Companies – including our organization – have been based in Limassol and Limassol  port  has replaced the port  of Famagusta. As a result, all these companies contribute to the city of Limassol, both directly and indirectly. Following the recent crisis, all the island’s major industries need to be strengthen ed and developed. Do you have any indications that this will happen with shipping? The global shipping industry had been affected a long time before the financial crisis appeared in Cyprus. The Cyprus-based shipping companies will certainly be affected even more and I don’t see too many positive signs for the immediate future. So the industry will certainly need support. Plenty has been said and I hope it will be turned into action. There is definitely much room for further development and expansion of the shipping industry in Cyprus, which will contribute to the economy.   How wide a range of services do you provide to the Cyprus shipping industry? What are these services? Our organisation is perhaps one of the few to offer specialized and integrated services in almost every sector of the shipping industry because it is active in ship owning as well as being a shipping agent and involved in transport services. These specialized services are ship management, port agency and port operation, road transport in Cyprus and Europe, air freight, cargo handling and international forwarding, customs clearing & warehousing, oil & gas logistics, logistics and marine insurance. Since shipping is a global industry, the sector in Cyprus is affected by events and trends beyond its control. Where do you see the industry right now? Are things improving again? Due to the reduced volume of freight transport and high management and running expenses for vessels, as well as intense competition, it is difficult to see how things are going to improve for the time being. That said, only those companies that offer top quality and do not attempt to exceed their true capabilities will manage to survive. The major Cyprus-based ship owning and ship management companies have already declared that they intend to stay here. Is there more that the government 72 Gold THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT, FINANCE & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MAGAZINE OF CYPRUS can do to encourage others to make Cyprus their headquarters? It is my personal belief that these companies will indeed stay but we, as a society, together with the Government and semi-government services, need to upgrade and improve the quality of the  services through extensive and continuous training, the proper infrastructure and competitive charging. How do you see your company’s immediate and long-term future? Salamis Organisation, in addition to the various foreign companies that it represents and which call at Cypriot ports, maintains its activities in the cruising sector with Limassol as a home port for cruises by its own Cyprusflagged cruise ship Salamis Filoxenia. In addition, it maintains maritime links between Cyprus, Greece and Israel on a weekly basis with its own Cyprus-flagged Ro/Ro vessels,  transporting all types of cargo in its own containers, reefer trailers, etc. Furthermore, following recent developments in the energy sector, Salamis Organisation has invested in oil & gas logistics, offering transport and storage services for various cargoes relating to this industry. CONTACT DETAILS SALAMIS SHIPPING SERVICES LTD 124, Franklin Roosevelt Ave., P.O.Box 55609 3781 Lemesos, Cyprus Tel.: [phone] Fax: [phone] e-mail: [email protected] website: www.salamisshipping.com